The nationals have not always been contested in the late spring and early summer. Prior to WW2 the Championships were held in the Michaelmas term with qualification being from the season before.

Finals day 2018, which included the 99th contest, saw:
4 reigning Champions attempting to defend their titles, Lancashire (Open) and Leicestershire (U100) succeeded;
first time section Champions in the Minor (Surrey) and U140 (Nottinghamshire);
the Open, Minor Counties and U180 sections all decided on the last game to finish;
the Open decided on tie break for the second season in succession.

Large team chess that caters for all abilities still has its place in an ever increasing and diverse calendar of chess events. I am hoping for even better from the 100th contest in 2019.

Counties wishing to participate in what will be a special year for the Championships should register their interest now with one of the 5 regional Unions. some of which will be taking entries for their pending qualifying competitions.

What I will say is that the venue and playing conditions need to take priority over any suggestion of prizes or prize money and as the next one is 100 years the ECF will have to sort it out.

Actually it is the next but one that is the 100th Championships.

All the same, it would be good if the ECF could ensure suitable conditions for the 99th Championships.

I stand corrected. I was reporting what I thought had been said on Finals Day. My apologies to both Mark and Nick.

Mark, thank you for your excellent research. I rather fear that, had you not become the Controller, the forthcoming 100th Championships would have gone unnoticed. Earlier this year many of us fought to save the Championships in their present format. I don't think that any of us realised that they were at risk of being out for 99.

However, the danger has passed, at least for now. Thank you for what you are already doing to ensure that the 100th Counties Championships are truly memorable.

I hope that the next Director of Home Chess will be someone who is an enthusiastic about the Counties Championships as you are.

The nationals have not always been contested in the late spring and early summer. Prior to WW2 the Championships were held in the Michaelmas term with qualification being from the season before.

That is very interesting and not something of which I was previously aware.

I would need considerable persuading that it was appropriate to move the National Stages from their current April to July time slot. However, your historical research demonstrates that this could be done while still maintaining the Union Stages / National Stages link.

The nationals have not always been contested in the late spring and early summer. Prior to WW2 the Championships were held in the Michaelmas term with qualification being from the season before.

That is very interesting and not something of which I was previously aware.

I would need considerable persuading that it was appropriate to move the National Stages from their current April to July time slot. However, your historical research demonstrates that this could be done while still maintaining the Union Stages / National Stages link.

I guess like most things to do with the County Championships, there will be a few different views as to the best time of year to play, but no consensus around any specific proposal to get it voted through Council

I think (apart from possibly the Open), you do need to start and finish within the same grading year for eligibility purposes

Any postings on here represent my personal views and should not be taken as representative of the Manchester Chess Federation www.manchesterchess.co.uk

"It would be an issue if the qualifying was before summer and the final stages in the Autumn"

Yes I know - I was just commenting that it was easier before there was a grading system!

However, if the qualifying (only necessary in some Unions) were in Spring, you could say that the gradings in force then would be carried through to the finals. Leagues (probably) tend to use the summer list for all games in the normal season, even though a January list comes out. So, just specify the grading list to be used for the entire competition.

The nationals have not always been contested in the late spring and early summer. Prior to WW2 the Championships were held in the Michaelmas term with qualification being from the season before.

Finals day 2018, which included the 99th contest, saw:
4 reigning Champions attempting to defend their titles, Lancashire (Open) and Leicestershire (U100) succeeded;
first time section Champions in the Minor (Surrey) and U140 (Nottinghamshire);
the Open, Minor Counties and U180 sections all decided on the last game to finish;
the Open decided on tie break for the second season in succession.

Large team chess that caters for all abilities still has its place in an ever increasing and diverse calendar of chess events. I am hoping for even better from the 100th contest in 2019.

Counties wishing to participate in what will be a special year for the Championships should register their interest now with one of the 5 regional Unions. some of which will be taking entries for their pending qualifying competitions.

Mark Murrell
ECF Controller, Counties Championships.

Thanks for your efforts on behalf of Devon - we hope to enter two sections for the 100th event.

I'm hoping my grade falls below 140 so I'm eligible for 4 teams. 5 if we repeat our minor counties success.
Hopefully some other counties can field more teams. I have never played in the U140s competition.

I'm still struggling with the heat and humidity but it will be cooler next season. And no major sporting event getting in the way of Chess.